And luckily after the wind tunnel tests done last fall, Remco Evenepoel he was not happy with his improvements. At least that's what was said. Mostly because he had made them together with Mattia Cattaneo who had improved, numbers in hand, more than him.
Then winter passes and at the first important time trial of the season, here comes the little champion of Quick Step Alphavinyl demolishes his opponents. At the Volta Algarve, Remco was almost a minute (58”) ahead of the second placed rider, who by the way is not one of those. He is the European champion Stefan Kung.
Impressions of Alessandro Ballan, about the show of strength shown to the Valenciana they were correct.
Higher, more efficient
But what did Evenepoel do in the wind tunnel? He clearly revised his position, which was already excellent to begin with, and he had still benefited from it.
A position that was perhaps even “too” good. In fact, to accentuate aerodynamics, riders often find themselves having to less efficient in the push phase and above all in lung capacity. In the long run this doesn't allow you to express yourself at your best.
Ironically, therefore, a step backwards was taken in terms of aerodynamics, but two steps were taken in terms of the final result: going faster.
Remco rose slightly at the front. The hands are positioned a little higher and now they are more overlapped with each other, a solution that he was the first to adopt Philippo Ganna. And what was seen in the time trial of UAE Tour also in other riders, including Tom Dumoulin.
165 cranks!
Often, when you go to the wind tunnel, you also try new materials. More airy and smoother materials, but this wasn't the case. More than wheels or helmets, once the custom appendages were sorted out, we focused on the biomechanical part. Especially on the cranks.
In the past, time trials used to lengthen them. Some even went as far as 180mm, but now it's the other way around. Those with 175mm use 172,5mm, and so on... And an Evenepoel who had 170 mm went up to 165 mm. Yes, you read that right: 165 millimeters!
With this solution the angle between the torso and pelvis can be slightly more open, promoting breathing (we are really talking about details and millimetres). When the leg goes up, the knee does not hit the diaphragm (and we return to the discussion of respiratory efficiency).
Such a short crankset clearly affects the pedalling frequency. The rpm for Evenepoel have increased significantly. The Quick Step-Alphavinyl and Specialized, who proposed the test, were very smart to initiate the change in November. Why? Because this way The rider had plenty of time to train on the new cadences.
A tough time trial
The Tavira time trial was truly revealing. It was 32,2 kilometers long, with about 400 meters of elevation gain, and it was also quite a lot of riding, with narrow roads and plenty of curves.
Evenepoel averaged 51,089. An astonishing number, especially considering that for the first 5 kilometers the wind was completely against him and then gusted sideways. It is no coincidence that the Belgian did not choose the classic front wheel that he uses in time trials, but the Rapid on the road.
Rumor has it that David Bramati in the flagship was very satisfied, a sight to see. And Remco's feedback was also more than positive: "I've never done such a high-level time trial."
By virtue of this tortuous path of the Portuguese time trial, there is to be also analyze the speech of the guide which, if we want, is the weak link of RemcoHis new position has also helped him in this regard. Those close to him say that Evenepoel has taken the issue head-on, so much so that his commitments to gravel biking were not an end in themselves.
